The Call to Heal
by AstringentSaccharine
Summary: AU In life, some of us may have an unspeakable secret, or an irreversible regret, perhaps even an unreachable dream or an unforgotten love. I have all four. I could never forget Embry Call, but can he live with my unspeakable truth?
1. Chapter 1: Hers Forever

**Full Summary**_: (Alternate Universe) Eclipse and Breaking Dawn never happened. When Edward left, he did not return (at least not yet). The pack was able to destroy Victoria; the newborn army was never created. Laurent never attacked Bella._

_Seth is now 15. Quil, Jake, Embry, and Jared are 17. Paul is 18. Sam and Leah are 21._

_Sam is still Alpha; Jacob is Beta until he graduates. Bella and Jacob are together in this story, because true Alphas don't imprint._

**The imprints:**_ Claire Young is 16 (Quil's Imprint). Kim Whitecloud is 17 (Jared's Imprint). Emily Young is 21 (Sam's Imprint). Rachel Black is 21 (Paul's Imprint). My original characters are 17 yr. old Amara (Naya Rivera) and Aloma Deruisseaux (Shay Mitchell) are fraternal twins and cousins to Jacob Black. Jennie Black-Deruisseaux was their mother and Billy's Black sister._

**Other Original Characters: **_Aaron __Bottineau (Jonathan Rhys Meyers)_

_This is an Embry/Amara pairing, check picture links of my original characters. There are also pics up of Kim, Claire, and Rachel (SM owns). _

**Beta'd by: **_Shunkahah Wanagi and Sparkling-Iris_

**Chapter 1: Hers Forever**

_"When you smiled you had my undivided attention. When you laughed, you had my urge to laugh with you. When you cried, you had my urge to hold you. When you said you loved me, you had my heart forever."_

**Embry POV**

"I wish you would stop laughing." Quil groaned as we headed to Jake's house. He was just filling me in on the latest escapades between him and Claire.

"I'm sorry man, but this shit is too funny," I said in between chuckles, "To get caught in the act by your Alpha also known as your girl's guardian…" I was now gasping for air.

I was lucky Quil was the one driving because I would have been swerving all over the road, "I can't wait until you phase and I see it for myself, the guys are never gonna let you live this down!" Quil pulled up behind Bella's truck and into Billy's newly renovated house.

"Oh damn it! I hadn't even thought about that! It's already bad enough Sam and Emily are prohibiting me from being alone with Claire for a month, now I gotta deal with you assholes seeing the whole thing. They sat us down and had _the talk_ with us and everything!" He winced, "It was the most uncomfortable two hours I ever had in my whole entire life."

It was a mystery as to how our tribal leader being wheelchair bound and on disability was able to afford such a renovation, but only a select few knew the truth. From the moment Taha Aki phased he gathered the Elders of his time and explained how important it would be to ensure those who phased were financially looked after, since it was our job to protect our tribe and we risked our lives daily, they felt we should be given some form of a stimulus. From that day forward a trust was created and continued to build throughout the generations, once we were old enough to get jobs of our own, we'd put 20% of our monthly earnings back into the trust so that future packs continued to be looked after.

"Cheer up man," I smacked him on the back. "Could be worse."

"How so?" He inquired. I pondered for a moment.

What could be worse than having your Alpha walk in on you and your girlfriend having sex? Your Alpha who also happens to be your girlfriend's legal guardian?

"On second thought," I laughed once more, "I got nothing."

"You're a big help." Quil spat as we got out of the car.

Bella and Jake were sitting outside on the front steps; based upon the look on his face I knew something was very wrong. He hadn't looked this upset since the day he found out about the redhead being after Bella. The two love birds were huddled up close. Bella was consolingly rubbing his back, as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Hey Jake man, what's wrong? Is Billy alright?" I hadn't heard his wheelchair moving around inside or the faint sound of his heart beating. Had his diabetes gotten worse? No, Jake would not be here, he'd be at the hospital with his dad. So what's up?

"Dad's fine." Jake muttered softly. "Well at least physically."

"Charlie took him to the airport to pick up Aloma and Amara." Bella added standing up.

"Your cousins?" I heard Quil reply as he looked over at Jake and then at me. "You and Amara were inseparable back in the day, you remember Embry?"

"They're your cousins too." Bella stared at Quil.

"Second cousins, that's more like fourth degree relatives." He smirked to Bella.

_Amara…Amara…Amara…Amara. _

Her named echoed in my head as my heart began to race at the same pace as if it I just finished running a marathon. Amara was to me, what Bella was to Jake.

Amara was the type of girl one could meet once for five minutes, and remember a lifetime. I never forgot about her, at times I even annoyed Jake when we were phased, as I'd play memories in my head of her and me. They were strictly PG-13 in comparison to the NC-17 rated shit that went on in Paul's head with Jake's sister Rachel Amara and Aloma used to spend every summer with Billy, Jake, Rachel, and Rebecca.

Everyone around me shrugged off what I had for Amara as nothing more than puppy love. That really pissed me off.

Who were they to say that what I was experiencing was just that, when I had done and felt more with Amara, than I did in contrast with any girl I liked after Amara's absence? I just couldn't bring myself to open up with another girl, as I did with Amara.

It was hard to believe it had been four years since I last saw her. It was a sad occasion.

Her parent's funeral. I flew with Jake's family to Canada to attend.

Aloma and Amara's father was a part of the Métis Nation, and in true tradition, the twins cut their hair extremely short as a sacrifice to honor the ones they loved who died. Jennie, their mother was an honorary member of the Métis Nation due to her marriage to Amara and Aloma's father. I remembered cradling her in my arms and letting her cry against me, as Jake consoled Aloma.

Jennie Black moved away years ago, after her father refused to accept her relationship with Amara and Aloma's father Gabriel; because he was Métis.

Métis people are mixed of Native American/First Nations and European ancestry. During the height of the North American fur trade in the 18th and 19th centuries, many British and French Canadian fur traders married First Nations and Inuit women, but mainly First Nations Cree, Ojibwa, or Salteaux. The majority of the fur traders were Scottish or French, and were Catholic. Therefore their children, the Métis, were exposed to both the Catholic and indigenous belief systems, thus creating a new distinct aboriginal people in North America.

I remember that during one of their summer visits, some rez kids started teasing Aloma and Amara calling them 'coke cans'.

Quil, Jake, and I promptly kicked their asses.

Billy fought tooth and nail to take Amara and Aloma in, he wanted to raise his sister's children, but unfortunately, for all of us, Amara's aunt, her father's sister, got custody instead. I believe it had everything to do with the fact that she had a bigger wallet and fancy lawyers. She gave me her forwarding address, I wrote to her almost every single day for a whole year, but she never wrote me back. I guess she didn't care for me as much as I thought she did.

"Embry?!" Quil yelled my name and finally pulled me out of my internal thoughts. "You and Amara were inseparable back in the day, right?" He repeated again.

"Yes, we were close...once," I sighed and continued, "but that was a long time ago."

"So they're coming to visit." Quil shrugged. "That's a little weird to come down here in the middle of the school year..." He went on.

"They're not visiting," Jake cut in. "They're moving in. Rachel is moving into Grandma Judith's place, it's been sitting there vacant for years now. Amara and Aloma will have Rach and Becca's old room." Jake finally looked up at us.

"I know Paul's happy." Quil sniggered, but immediately stopped hackling after Jake shot him a stare that would scare the biggest badass.

"Bells is moving in with Rach too." Jake finally added.

"That's cool too Jake, not sure why you're so upset. Your woman is moving to the rez, Amara and Aloma are coming back, our junior year is gonna be awesome! I can't wait until they meet Claire, they're really gonna hit it off." Aloma and Amara were real jokesters, their pranks were epic, and to this day the rez continued to talk about some of the crazy shit they pulled.

"Amara isn't a junior, she's repeating her sophomore year." Jake mumbled.

"What?!" I exclaimed. Amara was smarter than all of us, how the hell did she fail her sophomore year? "That doesn't make any sense Jake. Amara was smarted than,"

"Embry!" Jake snapped trembling as he stood back up. "There is a lot of shit that occur in a person's life that could distract them into failing out of school. We all need to come to terms with the fact that the Amara we all once knew, is not that anymore. We should thank the Great Spirits that Aloma is actually functioning as her normal self after all the shit she's been through!" With those words, Jake marched inside and slammed the door behind him.

"Who the hell pissed in his Cheerios?" Quil demanded.

"I'm sorry guys, it's just," Bella shut her eyes for a moment before continuing. "There's a lot of things that have been going on for the past few weeks, and Billy had been really secretive about it. On some occasions when we showed up, he would be on the phone speaking quietly and quickly get off. He finally explained everything to us yesterday, followed by Amara and Aloma moving to La Push."

"So what is it?" I spat starting to feel impatient.

"I can't tell you, I will not betray Jake and Billy's trust." Bella said defiantly.

"You might as well, we'll see it when he's phased," Quil began,

"No we won't," I cut in.

Jake had the ability as true Alpha to shield certain thoughts from us, it was a luxury that even Sam didn't have.

Bella stepped down from the stairs and walked up to us, "You're Jake's best friends, and I know you want to help, just be there for him when he's ready to talk. Aloma and Amara are going to need all the support they can get. There's a battle coming, not one in a supernatural sense, but a human one, and even those can be messier. They'll be back tonight to stop by, okay?"

Bella gave us both brief hugs and headed inside.

I didn't care who Amara was now, all that mattered was she was coming back, and I intended on never letting her go again.

**A/N: Please review, and add to your alerts and favorites. Thank you all for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2: Hiding The Pain

**Beta'd by: **_Sparkling-Iris_

**Special Thanks To the Following for showing some love: **IAmPhoenix; gdselby; whatsnotbeentaken

**Chapter 2: Hurting on The Inside**

_"There are wounds that never show on the body that are deeper and more hurtful than anything that bleeds." ~ Laurell K. Hamilton, Mistral's Kiss_

**Amara POV**

Whoever said twins were total opposites must have been talking about Aloma and I...well...at least now. Although we are fraternal and barely resembled one another, we once used to be a lot of alike.

If Aloma was a diamond, she'd be internally flawless; she had beauty, brains, and unlimited kindness that would put a Disney princess to shame. I could actually picture her frolicking in the damn woods, humming some ridiculous melody, and in response, a slew of forest animals would appear out of nowhere, eagerly ready to do her bidding.

I was a different story. Far from perfect. I never wore make-up, I dressed in sweats and hoodies year round, and whenever anyone tried to approach me with the offer of kindness, I would verbally go off and then point them angrily in Aloma's direction. By the time Aloma and I reached high school, I was known as the evil twin, and Aloma was goodness and light all wrapped into one. I didn't hate my sister, I loved her in fact; she, in turn, loved me also, despite the fact no one could understand how or why she did. We still shared something very sacred, our twin bond.

I stared aimlessly out the window, giving off the impression that I wasn't listening to what Uncle Billy and Chief Swan were discussing with Aloma. She was anxiously hanging on to their every word. Uncle Billy was basically filling us in on what we missed in the past four years. What initially peaked my interest was hearing Uncle Billy reveal our cousin Jake was happily dating Bella Swan, Chief Swan's daughter. Bella wasn't Quileute. I could no longer hold my tongue.

I chuckled first. "Wow Uncle Billy, I'm pretty shocked you don't have a problem with our cousin dating a white girl, considering the fact that grandfather damn near chased our mom outta La Push years ago because our father wasn't Quileute."

Aloma winced slightly at my harsh words, in addition her cheeks reddened. Chief Swan's eyes widened marginally, but Uncle Billy didn't miss a beat.

"Actually Amara, I could care less who my son is dating, as long as that person treats him with love, trust, and respect." He replied.

"So if Jake wanted to date someone like….I don't know, Quil? Would that be alright with you too?" I countered.

"Of course not!" Chief Swan chortled.

"Just what I thought." I mumbled under my breath.

"That's right," Uncle Billy agreed, he shifted slightly and maneuvered himself to face me from his passenger's seat. "Given the fact that Quil is your second cousin and all."

Aloma began laughing hysterically. Chief Swan and Uncle Billy joined in and I went back to looking out the window.

"Speaking of our cousin Quil, how is he doing?" Aloma inquired.

"He's doing great, he's been seeing a girl named Claire Young for some time now." Uncle Billy answered. "She's from Makah, she moved in with her Aunt Emily after things got a little rough at home. Emily is Sam Uley's fiancée."

"What about Embry Call? Does he still live on the rez?" I quickly whipped my head in my sister's direction and glared at her with such anger. She mouthed the word sorry to me. How could she even bring him up right now? He forgot about me. All those promises he once made me didn't mean a thing to him since he never kept them.

Have you ever loved someone so much, but hated them at the same exact time? That's how I felt about Embry Call.

Cravings, we all have them. The unrelenting desire for one particular thing almost to an obsession, and no matter whatever substitute you used in exchange, it could never quench your thirst or hunger, because only that one particular thing could savor your appetite. Most people craved sweets, alcohol, or salty foods, but I craved Embry Call, and for every single day for two years straight. I was more than certain he would visit or call, or even write me, but he never did. That craving turned into sheer animosity and he was now the one person I really didn't want to see.

"Yes, Embry still does live on the rez. He, Quil and Jake are closer than ever. They spend a lot of time together." So not what I wanted to hear come out of Uncle Billy's mouth. "When of course Quil and Jake are not spending time with Claire and Bella."

"So, I guess that means Embry doesn't have a girlfriend tying him up in his spare time?" That's it, I quickly pinched my sister on her arm. "Ow!"

"Are you two alright back there?" Chief Swan adjusted his mirror to get a look at the both of us.

"Muscle spasm." Aloma lied, rubbing the spot of flesh I nipped earlier.

"No, Embry doesn't have a girlfriend." Uncle Billy quickly answered as we pulled into his gravel driveway. We all sat in an eerie silence.

I finally broke it. "The house looks different, a little bigger in fact." I observed.

"We had it renovated about a year ago, it was time. Jake and his friends did most of the work, the parts came cheap." Uncle Billy explained.

Once again no one spoke for what felt like an eternity.

Chief Swan cleared his throat. "I'll just go and get Jake to help you get out Billy."

"How many people know everything about me?" I finally murmured after Chief Swan got out of the cruiser.

"Amara, no one knows what happened to you outside our household, except for Chief Swan and Bella, and the two of them can be trusted. As a matter of fact, Bella volunteered to take you to the hospital whenever you like, when Jake can't." I nodded absentmindedly. "Your inheritance left you a reasonable amount of money, I'm sure Mr. Bottineau has already told you this, if you would like to buy a car of your own, so you could drive yourself to and from the hospital, that shouldn't be a problem."

Mr. Bottineau, better known to Aloma and I as Aaron, had been appointed personally by our parents in the event of their death as the executor of our estate until we reached adulthood. He took his job very seriously, my father was a mentor to him, he even made the choice to move to Forks so he could be close by.

"We can't drive." We both replied in unison.

"Well, I'm sure Jake or someone else can teach you. Those guys have been driving for so long, way before it was even legal." Uncle Billy chuckled. The front door opened and suddenly we saw a very tall, muscular version of our cousin Jake standing in the doorway. Aloma squealed with excitement and hopped out of the car. She ran full speed, and Jake swiftly lifted my sister into his arms with a bone crushing hug. I felt a tinge of jealously kick in, I wish I was more like her, able to block the pain and live in the now, instead of the past, but I just couldn't. "Tamara," He called me by my full name, which immediately tugged at my heart strings, but I didn't let on. Mother and Father called me Tamara. Usually I would object when someone else did, but I wouldn't do that to my mother's brother, we could have easily been thrown into foster care for a year after he discovered the ugly twisted truth about the lives we endured while living in Montana with my father's sister, her husband, and stepson. "I vow to you, that no one will ever hurt you again." His words held such conviction in them, I wanted to believe him. I needed to.

I was so lost in his last words that I hadn't noticed my cousin Jake was now standing outside Uncle Billy's passenger side with his wheelchair unfolded. "Your new life starts here today." He was right in more ways than one.

**Embry POV**

I waited impatiently by the window, hoping to get a glance of Amara as Charlie's cruiser pulled up. Quil and Claire were sitting on the sofa flipping through channels while Bella busied herself in the kitchen making dinner. I felt Jake's hand rest on my shoulder. "I'm sorry about earlier man."

"It's fine." I told him as I continued to gaze out of the window.

"Embry." My best friend called my name with such gravity that I couldn't help but turn my head to look him in the eye. "When Bella fell apart, the pack gave me a really hard time about not giving up on her. Everyone. Except for you." He took a deep breath. "I never understood why." He looked down briefly and then back up at me. "You were my biggest supporter, and now, I think I understand why." He said nothing more. We just stood there in silence, staring out the window together while I mentally internalized what exactly Jake was trying to say.

"Hey Jake, a little help?" Just then, Charlie opened the front door. I heard Jake exhale deeply before he headed outside. As I continued looking out the window, I finally got a glimpse of Charlie's back door opening. I was hoping it was Amara, but it wasn't. Aloma ran into Jake's arms and held onto him for dear life. Soon after their embrace, Jake grabbed Billy's wheelchair from the trunk. Once his dad was settled in, I found myself opening the front door of the house.

"Oh my goodness, Embry!" I couldn't really read Aloma's expression. She appeared to be a little happy, yet apprehensive to see me. Why? What did I do? We stared at one another for a while before exchanging the briefest awkward hug I've ever received in my life. Aloma looked amazing…too amazing in fact. Her jet-black hair hung down her back, she was dressed in a brown tight sweater, dark blue skinny jeans, and knee high boots. Seeing her with make-up was…different. Aloma and Amara were both a bit tomboyish. They climbed trees, raced us guys, and beat our asses, well at least tried to.

"You look great Aloma." I complimented her.

"You look…massive." She laughed nervously. "You're almost as tall as Jake."

"So is Quil, he's inside with his girlfriend Claire. Jake's girlfriend Bella is also." I told her.

"I should go inside and say hi." She said, but continued staring at me. It was a little weird.

"What?" I finally asked her.

"It's still there." She whispered. "The twinkle…in your eyes." My chest heaved in deeply. Aloma claimed Amara put that twinkle there, the first time she held my hand, and I did the same for her. "But hers isn't there anymore. It faded a long time ago." She told me severely, as if I was to blame. But why me? I wrote her, but she never wrote back. I started to say something but didn't have any time because all too soon, Aloma walked passed me and marched inside. Just as Jake's front door slammed shut, Charlie's cruiser door swung open again.

I slowly made my way towards the car, but stopped when Amara stepped out. The moment our eyes met, gravity shifted; I imprinted. I was lost in those chestnut brown eyes of hers that once looked so warm and inviting, but now, they appeared hard and almost hostile. She wore no makeup, but her high cheekbones, pouty lips, and light copper-toned skin still took my breath away. Although the stare we shared felt like an eternity, I knew it had only been mere seconds. She quickly dropped her gaze as I finally took in her appearance. Her hair was pulled back in a messy bun, she was wearing a pair of black baggy sweats and a matching hoodie that had to be three sizes too big. She was Amara, my Amara, but not the same. Different. Very different, and although I felt that familiar tug in my chest that I felt so many times in the pack mind, it was off. Something was missing, but what? She shut the car door behind her and leaned against it.

I scanned the yard to see Jake kneeling down in front of his dad. I could hear him telling his father about the imprint; when a pack brother was nearby and another member imprinted, they could feel and sense it also. I gauged Billy's reaction, he gave me a knowing nod.

"Go to her." He said loud enough for me to hear, but too low for Amara to catch.

I walked slowly over to the girl who I missed for years, still not sure how to even start a conversation that was four years late in the making.

Why didn't she write me back? No, not a good question to start off with. I'd have to warm up to that point, but before I could say a word, Amara spoke.

"Aren't you a _sore_ for _sight_ eyes?" Her tone was laced with acrimony.

"Don't you mean _'sight for sore eyes_?'" I corrected her.

"No." She smirked, looking up at me. "I said it right the first time."

What the hell is that shit supposed to mean?

"I'm really confused here Amara, Aloma's looking at me like she wants to cut off my balls, and you talk to me as if…as if…you hate me." Did my imprint truly disdain my very presence? Talk about a major blow to my male ego. "What's the big deal?"

"Nothing." She shook her head and laughed bitterly. "I don't even know why I'm so mad. What we had happened a long time ago." She pushed herself off the car and started heading towards Billy and Jake's place. "Let's just pretend it never did, I mean what were we thinking? Pretending like we were meant to be together forever at thirteen?" She cackled. "So dumb." She smirked again, opening the door, but I reached over and shut it before she could walk through.

"It wasn't dumb, not to me. Everything I ever said and did with you…"

"Embry stop, please." She sighed. "I'm no good for you, I don't do love or relationships anymore, and the one person who hasn't given up on me, I keep at a distance as well." She looked over her shoulder. She must have been referring to Aloma. "Friendship is all I can give you, and I'm pretty bad at that too." She admitted.

I couldn't stop myself from cupping her face in my hands gazing into those lost eyes of hers, searching for answers I'd never get. "What happened to you Amara?" I finally asked her.

She firmly pulled away. "I grew up Embry, and I don't believe in fairy tales anymore, so stop trying to make things right; it's too late for you and your white horse to rescue me now." She turned around and walked inside, taking my heart along with her.

**A/N: Thanks for reading, please review, add to your alerts and favorites.**


	3. Chapter 3: In Love Forever

**Beta'd by: **_Sparkling-Iris_

**Special Thanks To the Following for showing some love: **This-is-me-6; KendieV; brankel1; Guest; Shunkahah Wanagi; **and** Jazz379705.

**Chapter 3: Forever in Love**

_"It is impossible to fall out of love. Love is such a powerful emotion, that once it envelops you it does not depart. True love is eternal. If you think that you were once in love, but fell out of it, then it wasn't love you were in. There are no 'exit' signs in love, there is only an 'on' ramp."_

**Amara POV**

Damn it! From the moment I saw Embry exchange hugs with my sister, I knew I was in trouble. He was even more enticing than I remembered. His tall and slender physique was now built with long rounded muscles, his once long hair had been cut and cropped short. Still, it looked great on him. His stare was piercing and I quickly looked away out of fear he would gape into my soul and see all of the ugly dark secrets I kept hidden. I nearly lost all of my bearings when I told him to act as though we never happened. I just couldn't bear to not have him in my life and I honestly believed I would literally ache if I didn't see him every day, so I offered him something I usually never did, my friendship. When his warm hands caressed my face I thought for sure I would fall apart and melt into his arms, for I loved him still more now than ever. However, I learned a long time ago that if you truly love someone, you do what's best for them even if it hurts you. The best way to love Embry for his sake, was from a distance. He deserved better, not me. I wasn't _his Amara_ anymore.

As I entered the house, I scanned the faces sitting in the living room. I recognized Quil first, who happened to be sandwiched between my sister and a pretty auburn tone teenaged girl who I assumed to be Claire, his girlfriend. Quil pretty much looked the same, but bulkier like a football player, in contrast to Embry's leaner build. Even though he was seated, I could still tell he was shorter than Embry and Jake. "Hey there Amara!" Quil shot up. "I'm liking the whole _Billy Badass look_ you've got going on." He ribbed. He could tell almost immediately, but from the glare I gave him, I was far from amused, he then cleared his throat and tilted his head towards his girlfriend. "Claire this is Amara. Amara this is Claire."

"Hey." I nodded my head towards her.

"It's nice to finally meet you. I've heard so many great things about you." She smiled back at me.

"Yeah, well," I shrugged nonchalantly at her. "I hate to break it to you chick, but life is full of disappointments." With that parting remark, I headed to Rach and Becca's old room.

"She's just a little jetlagged." I heard my sister defend me as I closed the door behind me and flopped down on one of the full size beds.

"Amara?" A foreign voice called my name through the door. "Can I come in?"

"If you want." I sat up as the door slowly opened.

Standing before me was a rather attractive very pale tone girl with long, straight, dark brown hair, a widow's peak, unique chocolate brown eyes and a heart-shaped face with a wide forehead. Her eyes were large and widely spaced. Her nose was thin and her cheekbones; prominent. Her lips were a bit too full for her slim jawline, but she was still stunning. Her eyebrows were darker than her hair and straighter than they were arched.

"Chief Swan's daughter I presume?" I tried to sound cordial to my cousin's girlfriend only because I knew she meant so much to him. He would speak of her often during the summers we spent in La Push; how he missed her, and wished she would come see him. I knew what it felt like to long for someone. I felt the same way when it came to Embry. What was it with our family? Always falling in love way before puberty.

"That's me." Bella smiled sheepishly at me. "Can you and I go somewhere real quick, these walls are paper thin and I figured we should talk about how we're going to work around things for the next couple of weeks." She continued. "If you don't feel comfortable going alone with me, Aloma could come with us."

"I'm a little surprised with you Swan. I'd assume you'd want backup and not want to be alone with me, considering you know what I'm capable of."

"Believe it or not, I've been around more dangerous things than you." She remarked. "Besides, I would never do anything to provoke that side of you." She looked around the room before continuing, "So, should we invite your sister?"

"No, Aloma's the center of attention right now, I'm sure Claire and she will be BFF's by the time we get back." My sister was just that damn lovable and compliant.

"I believe you're right." Bella laughed. "Claire is already on the phone inviting the whole gang over to meet, and I quote, her words, not mine_, 'the coolest chick ever!'_" The coolest chick Claire was referring to was my sister.

"Not surprised." I slid off the bed. "I'm not really into being the center of attention."

"Me neither." My cousin's girlfriend groaned. I walked over to the window and slid it open.

"What are you doing?" Bella surveyed my choice of exit with a perplexed expression.

"I can't look at him again." I admitted. The last time I looked into Embry's eyes, he nearly had me in his arms. "Not right now, I need a little more time." Bella nodded in understanding, and she pulled her cell phone from her pocket.

"Just let me text Jake to let him know."

**~XOXOXOXOXOXOX~**

Bella and I ended up at First Beach walking along the shore.

"You still love Embry, after all these years?" She finally asked me.

"Yes." Admitting it out loud only made me feel worse. I felt this new strange tug in my chest ever since I saw him again, and it only felt more bothersome being further away. "The feelings I have towards him are even stronger than they used to be when we were thirteen. I'm sure I sound ridiculous right now." I laughed at myself. "It's been four years Swan, and it feels like I never left, but it just can't work between me and him, things are just really complicated and will be even more so once he finds out about everything."

Bella stopped walking. "How could you be so sure?"

"Swan-"

"Just listen for a second," Bella cut in. "About two years ago, I started dating this guy named Edward, and I thought he was perfect. I was infatuated with him as he was with me. I thought he was my forever, but one day he took me for a walk in the woods, told he didn't love me enough to stay, and he abandoned me. I was left in those woods for almost the whole entire night. All of Forks and La Push went looking for me before I was finally found by Sam Uley. I was cold, sick, and felt like I was dying inside. I ended up with pneumonia, but my physical health was nothing compared to the emotional damage he put me through. I thought I could never love again, but Jake never gave up on me. When my feelings towards him started changing, I thought I wasn't whole enough for him, I felt like he deserved a fully functioning person and not some former shadow of the girl he once fell in love with years ago." Bella had the same concerns I did when it came to Embry. I just didn't think I was good enough for him. "It was hard, but I started becoming the old me slowly but surely. I'd like think it was Jake and his unrelenting determination to see me smile again that made it possible."

"I'm really glad my cousin didn't give up on you, but there are so many things that have happened, and once Embry finds out…he's gonna make a run for it."

"I believe he is incapable of ever letting you walk away from him again." Bella and I started walking towards her truck. "Just give him a chance, hang out with him after we come back from the hospital tomorrow."

"Alright Swan." I conceded.

"Does this mean we'll be using the front door this time?" She gave me an encouraging look.

"Damn it Swan, you're trying to kill me." I groaned loudly.

We both laughed.

**Embry POV**

After Amara made her hasty departure to her room, Bella went to go check on her. It nearly broke me when I overheard Amara telling Bella she'd rather use the window than look at me again.

I couldn't help but stare in amazement how Aloma effortlessly won Claire over. She laughed at Quil's jokes, said all the right things, and before we knew it, Claire was inviting the whole pack and their imprints over to meet who she called the coolest chick ever. I couldn't wait until she met Leah. If she was able to sway our she-wolf, I was going to assume Aloma was a witch and knew magic. I wandered into Jake's kitchen and took a peek at what smelled so good.

Homemade banana bread and apple yogurt cake with cinnamon-sugar streaks. Bella also had four slow cookers brewing of beef stew. She must have already assumed the pack would be stopping by. I stole a large piece of apple yogurt cake.

Jake walked into the kitchen "Considering the fact you're in here shoving food down your throat, you're not doing too well, you were always an emotional eater. Being what we are doesn't help."

"You said Aloma was functioning." I stuffed another piece of cake in mouth. "She's a fucking Stepford Wife."

"I don't know what you mean." I could tell he was trying to avoid this conversation.

"You know exactly what I mean. She's perfect, and not one hair is out of place. She's compliant, submissive, and spineless as hell. What is going on, and why does Amara hate me so much?"

"What's going on, is two girls coping with whatever hell they just been through. Aloma chose to become a perfectionist while Amara became resentful." Jake's tone borderline fury and sorrow. "I told you Amara wasn't the same." My best friend trembled.

"I'm sorry Jake, it's just that none of this shit makes sense to me." I set the now empty plate in the sink.

"A lot of bad things happened back in Montana. It's not my place to say anything, Amara and Aloma have to tell you all in their own time, in their own way. Just don't give up on them." Jake paused and took a deep breath. "I knew you would imprint on Amara." He finally blurted out.

My eyes grew wide. "How?" I demanded.

"Because, you could never see anyone but her, even after she left, and the vows you made to her, you managed to keep, I mean she's your wife after all." He teased me.

"That doesn't count, we were only twelve, and it was just for pretend that day." I chuckled, as I nervously rubbed the back of my head and relived that precious memory.

"Hey, I'm the future chief of this tribe and I performed that ceremony. Makes it pretty damn iron clad if you ask me." He guffawed. We were soon interrupted by the sound of Jake's front door opening.

"Something smells damn good!" Jared waltzed in. "We got your text Jake, congrats Embry." My fellow pack brother smacked me on the back.

"Congrats…text?" I gave my would-be Alpha a securitizing glare.

"I couldn't use the _'I'_ word in front of Aloma and Amara, so I sent a mass text to everyone."

"I guess." I shrugged. By now the living room was busy with friendly banter, we heard Claire introducing Aloma to everyone, but as soon as the front door opened once more, the commotion came to a complete halt. I felt ripples throughout my body. It wasn't Amara or Bella because I would have sensed her presence from the imprint link, but this was a different _familiar_ shift. Slowly but surely, the conversation picked back up just as Leah stormed into the kitchen.

"What the fuck Jake?" She snarled in a whisper. "Is there something in your Black line of genetics that makes every single chick with a damn pulse in your family imprintable?"

"_Imprintable_ isn't even a word." Jared corrected. "Trust me, I'd know."

"Shut the hell up Cameron!" Leah shoved him. "Or I swear…so help me," She held up her fist menacingly at him.

"Leah, what the hell is wrong with you? Embry deserves to be happy, he's loved Amara since before any of us truly knew what love was…"

"I don't give a damn about Embry imprinting on Amara." Leah interrupted Jake.

"Okay, well I'm totally lost here, then." I spoke up.

"I'm talking about my fifteen year old little brother imprinting on your other cousin, Ms. Flawless!" Oh shit! "She looks like she stepped from a god damn fashion magazine!"

"Looks like a lot of us are into older women." Jared mused. First Jake and Bella, than Paul and Rachel, now Seth and Aloma.

"She's not even Seth's type." Leah complained.

"The real Aloma is." Jake and I both said at the exact time.

"What?!" Leah shook her head. "I'm so lost right now."

Minutes later I felt Amara's presence.

"Hey guys, we're back!" I heard Bella yell as she entered the house.

Could this day get any crazier?

**A/N: Yup Seth imprinted on Aloma! Thanks for reading, please review, favorite and add this story to your alerts. **


	4. Chapter 4: My Choice, Not My Option

**Beta'd by: **_Sparkling-Iris_

**Special Thanks To the Following for showing some love: **malfoysmirks **and** seetherfan77.

**Chapter 4: My Choice, Not My Option**

_Somewhere between heartaches and waiting comes another chance to be found by someone who can show you that you don't deserve to be just an option but a choice._

**Amara POV**

As soon as I entered the living room, all eyes were on me, but in retrospect, my eyes were only focused on Aloma and the guy sitting next to her, who was obviously younger than Jake and Embry. Who the hell is this?

"Hey cuz, are you okay?" Jake asked as he stood up. I didn't answer him; instead I marched up to my sister.

"Bedroom, now!" I didn't wait for her to even respond as I walked away.

"Excuse me, I don't know what has gotten into her." I heard Aloma murmur apologetically. I was already in our bedroom by the time my sister finally came in and shut the door behind her. "Was that really necessary Amara?"

"Yes it was!" I exclaimed. "What was the one thing we agreed that we would not be doing when you and I got here?" I watched my sister drop her head for a moment before looking back up at me.

"Date." She heaved.

"Because?" I coaxed her to continue.

"Because, although girls want a lot of things from one guy, guys only want one thing from a lot of different girls." She finally responded embarrassingly.

"That's right!" She and I knew that better than anyone.

"But," Did she just say 'but'? "He's not like that, he's nice and sweet."

"They always start off nice and sweet!" I told her. "That's how they knock down our defenses!" I added as my voice cracked, the horrible memories started playing in my head of our tormented lives back in Montana. Aloma stepped towards me cautiously.

"I don't feel that way with Seth. He's different, I just know." My sister pleaded with me.

"Seth?!" I yelped. "As in Seth Clearwater, isn't he like thirteen?" He sure didn't look that young, but I knew he was younger than us. I was flabbergasted. I watched the blush flair in my sister's cheeks.

"No!" She barked. "He's fifteen, and he'll be sixteen before we turn eighteen."

"Oh, and that makes it so much better." I responded back sarcastically.

Aloma placed her hands on my shoulders. "Amara, why can't you just try to be optimistic and give him the benefit of the doubt?"

"You know why." I murmured.

"Could you at least try and be nice to him and his friends?" My sister begged, gripping my shoulders.

"Nice?" I smirked. Had my sister forgotten who the hell I was? "No, I won't be nice, but I will be tolerant, and if that Seth ever hurts you…I'll chop his fuckin' balls off."

**Embry POV**

Enhanced hearing can be a benefit and a curse, but I couldn't tell which one it was right now as I heard Amara unravel a bit at Aloma's immediate interest in Seth. I eyed Jake inquisitively when Amara spoke of men starting off nice and sweet to knock down a woman's defenses. Did she really think that's what I did to her? Leah laughed quietly when she heard Amara threaten to chop of Seth's balls if he hurt her sister.

"Damn bro, you should have imprinted on Amara, I like her." Leah nudged her brother, which only caused me to let out a territorial growl. "Chill Call, I was just kidding." My pack sister assured me just as Amara and Aloma's room door opened and the sisters returned to the living room.

"My sister would like to apologize for her rude behavior earlier." Aloma announced. Amara stared at her sister as if she'd grown a second head before her very eyes. Aloma gave her sister a pleading look.

"You want me to apologize to them?" Amara gestured towards us wildly.

"Tolerance, you promised." Aloma whispered in her sister's ear.

"Fine," She sniggered. "Just remember, you asked for it…" Aloma's face went pale as Amara cleared her throat. "Hello everyone, my name is Amara, and apparently I suffer from dissociative identity disorder. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's a an extremely rare mental disorder characterized by at least two distinct and relatively enduring identities that alternately control a person's behavior; one of my personalities is a bitch and the other one is an alien from out of space and knows nothing about friendly human interaction…on their behalf, I apologize." She finished bitterly and then looked at her sister. "Happy?" Aloma opened her mouth for a moment as if she were about to respond but shut it quickly and shook her head. "Now if you'll excuse me, _we_ need some fresh air."

We all stood around in a stunned silence for what felt like an eternity until Aloma finally spoke up. "She really doesn't have multiple personalities."

"Well damn Leah, it looks like you're not the biggest bitch on the rez anymore." Paul cackled.

"Call her a bitch again and you'll be picking up your teeth!" I threatened.

"Fuck you Lahote!" Leah added with a snarl.

"Sorry, I'm taken." He smirked as Rachel grabbed a newspaper and hit him upside the head. I shook my head and followed Amara outside. She was already halfway down the street by the time I caught up with her.

"What's wrong with you Call?" She demanded as she continued walking. "Are you a glutton for punishment?"

"I'm just checking on a friend, you said we were friends right?" She shrugged nonchalantly.

"I forgot how persistent you could be." She replied in annoyance, but I could hear a note of humor in her voice.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." I pretended to act as though I was clueless, although I knew exactly what she meant.

"Oh really?" She smirked finally looking up at me, and for a brief moment I saw it; the twinkle in her eyes. The summer Amara turned eleven, I admitted I no longer saw her as a friend, but something more. I pretty much begged her to be my girlfriend for two whole weeks. She finally agreed, and our relationship didn't change much, we just held hands now, and gave one another kisses on the cheek. Having a long distance relationship sucks even when you're eleven. We'd talk on the phone constantly and Amara's parents started coming down from Alberta for holidays after that to help us deal with the distance. Our last year we spent together was a lot different. At thirteen, displays of affection became more than just simple hand holding. Call me crazy, but I just knew I was in love and nobody could tell me otherwise. For everything that transpired between us, after her mom and dad's death, I still, for the life of me, couldn't understand why she let me go, why she never wrote back. I had to know why.

"Amara why," I was cut off by the sudden ringing of her cell phone. As she whipped it out, I read the contact on the display button. "Who's Aaron?" I tried not to sound jealous, but I was and already was thinking of a thousand ways to kick this guy's ass.

"He's the executor of our estate, but he feels more like my warden." She groaned. Guess I'll let him live. She hit the answer button. "Tánishi?" Damn it! Just when I thought I would finally get some answers when it came to Amara, I get blocked by her speaking to her executor in Michif, the language of the Métis people. I should have learned Michif when she offered to teach me. The conversation was brief, but from what I gathered in the few words I understood Amara was thanking him for doing something for her. "He's moving to Forks." She explained, putting her cell back in her pocket. "It's a part of the stipulations in being my and Aloma's executor, he's also handling some last minute things for me."

"He's Métis, like you?" She nodded yes.

"He was personally handpicked by my parents in the event of their death if they passed away while we were still minors or considered financially irresponsible." We started walking again.

"Why him?" I asked.

"Aaron," She sighed before continuing, "meant a lot to my parents. My dad pretty much saved his life in a way. When Aaron was fifteen, we were only three and he was a piece of work. He was getting in so much trouble, skipping class, picking fights-countless nights in juvenile hall. It was pretty bad. Aaron was the son of dad's biggest client. Although his own father was willing to wash his hands of him, dad thought perhaps there was something deeper troubling him, so my parents volunteered to take him in. Within a month, my dad realized that Aaron was totally misunderstood. For starters, Aaron thought on a whole different level than most people; he could fix software programs within seconds, see ways to improve current inventions; his mind was constantly thinking of ideas and new endeavors for the greater good of society. He wasn't cutting class because he was stupid. He was cutting class because he was a fucking genius." She stopped for a moment and looked at me. "Imagine being as smart as you are now, but instead of being in high school, they place you in pre-kindergarten." Yeah, I would be skipping classes too. "By the time Aaron turned twenty-one, he already had his Master's Degree, and over thirteen patents in his name alone. He's filthy rich, but you'd never know it. He doesn't wear fancy clothes, or drive expensive cars, or live in multi-million dollar mansions. He's just…Aaron." She shrugged, shoving her hands in her pockets. She wasn't opening up about herself but considering the fact that she was actually speaking to me civilly was progress.

"He sounds like a decent guy, but he isn't the first rich person I ended up being surprised by." I winked at Amara, who pulled one hand out of her pocket and playfully pushed me.

Amara and Aloma's parents were very successful financial investors to Canada's most elite social societies, in turn they themselves became extremely wealthy, and just like Aaron, you wouldn't know they had much from their appearance, for they lived quite modestly. "Speaking of not judging a book by its cover, could you ask your two personalities to get along with my friends?"

"We can't make you any promises, but I'll hold a conference with them later on tonight and let you know what they said." We started heading back to Jake's place.

"So what are you doing tomorrow?" I asked her.

"I have plans in the morning with Swan." She said quickly.

"Oh." I sighed disappointedly. "What about that evening, are you and Aloma coming to the bonfire? It's kind of in honor-the both of you moving back."

"I don't know, but I'm sure Aloma will be there." She replied insouciantly.

"I'm not trying to see Aloma, I want to see you." I watched Amara's face contort from indifference to interest.

"Well, that's a first." She cackled. "Someone who would actually pick the wicked witch over the pretty princess." We stood idly on Jake's front porch for a while, not really looking at one another before I finally said something.

"You're not wicked." I don't care how mean she acted, I knew for a fact it was just that, an act.

"Many people would begged to differ." She murmured. "I'll be at the bonfire." I mentally did backflips as I opened Jake's front door, and allowed Amara in first. I wasn't shocked at all to still see that all of my friends hadn't left yet. I then decided to properly introduce Amara to everyone, since she made such a dramatic exit before getting everyone's names.

"So, are you going to the bonfire tomorrow?" Kim asked Amara with a hopeful look on her face.

"Yeah, I'll be there." She said with less hostility.

"Wait." Paul stood up from Jake's sofa where he was sitting next to Rachel. "Shouldn't you converse with the bitch and the alien living in your head before making any rash decisions?" He asked, followed by a smirk.

"Paul!" I roared as Rachel smacked him upside his head for the second time. I'm definitely kicking his ass later while we have patrol.

"Actually," Amara stepped forward. "As long as I'm here, so is the bitch and alien." After that she simply laughed. "You know Paul, I think I might actually start to like you first, I mean shit; at least you have a sense of humor. I'm heading to bed, I'll see you in the morning Swan. Goodnight Call."

"Goodnight Amara."

"Okay guys, I think we should all call it a night." Sam announced, taking Emily by the hand. As much as I wanted to stay, I really needed to talk to Sam about the imprint. I'm sure he already knew, but my concern was the missing feeling I felt. It wasn't easy going to Sam these days. Since we found out we were brothers, things were just awkward. It's not every day you find out your piece of shit dad fathered another kid while he was still married to your mom. With Leah constantly in our minds she often compared me and Sam with one another, which piqued my interest. Sam was able to track down his father and that same night I confronted my mom. Still, things became even more complicated when my mom put me on house arrest after she caught me sneaking back in the house for the third time in a month. I was to go to school and come straight home, she even changed her schedule at the La Push diner to ensure she was home when I wasn't at school. When every member from the council arrived at mom's front door, she knew they meant business. After that, the council decided our parents should be let in on our secret. Things were just becoming too complicated.

"Sam," I caught up to him, Emily, and Claire. They were just about to get into Emily's car. "Can we talk?"

He glanced briefly at Emily and then back at me. "Sure, we were just about to head home." While Emily sat down with Claire to help her with her homework, Sam and I stepped outside to talk, in his hands were two glasses and a bottle of Billy's homemade moonshine. We couldn't get drunk, since our metabolisms were so fast, but the moonshine did provide bit of a calming effect. He poured me a glass and handed it to me.

"I'm underage." I told him, he scoffed lightly.

"Well your body isn't the last time I checked, and I know this isn't your first drink." Point taken. We both clinked our glasses together and took a long gulp. "I guess a congratulations is in order." Just like I thought, Jake told him about the imprint.

"Thanks," I responded, taking another sip. "That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Jake didn't tell me anything about Aloma or Amara and even if he did, I couldn't tell you what I know."

"That's not what this is about." I told him. "It's about the imprint."

"Go on."

"Well the pull is strong, but I feel like, something is amiss…strained almost. I really don't understand what the problem is."

"Really?" Sam didn't sound shocked at all. He leaned back in his chair and took a gulp before continuing. "It's happened before with previous pack's members, I've read something about it in our archives."

"So what's wrong with me?" I finally asked him.

"Nothing, nothing at all. When an imprintee is emotionally broken or hiding something, they can't give you everything, so you won't start feeling normal until Amara reveals her secrets, until she is emotionally healed." I felt hopeless, how could I get her to open up? Amara was so guarded and angry that I didn't even know where to begin. As if Sam knew what I was thinking, he went on to say, "Believe it or not, you're already healing her. Just being around Amara and talking is helping with her healing process. She's grown into a beautiful young lady by the way." He complimented her.

"She's always been beautiful." I smiled to myself before finishing my drink. I stood up. "I guess I'll see you at the bonfire tomorrow night. Tell Emily and Claire I said goodnight. Thanks, Sam."

"I will, it's no problem, comes with the job." He shrugged.

"Which job is that? Alpha or big brother?"

Sam slowly rose from his chair. "Both." With that, he gave me a nod and then headed inside.

That wasn't so bad after all.

**A/N: Thanks for reading, please review and add to your favorites and alerts.**


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